A Burmese python with a tracking device led Florida officials to a sex party

I swear the title is not mine!

Also I thought burms bred in the fall/winter, the females ovulated and produce eggs in the spring, and incubate the eggs during the warmer months. Once gravid the females usually want nothing to do with the males. So, why would 8 males be hanging out with one gravid female?

https://www.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/...king-sex-party

A Burmese python with a tracking device led Florida officials to a record-breaking sex party
Posted By Linzie Lawton on Mon, Apr 16, 2018 at 4:34 PM

An invasive Burmese python with a surgically implanted tracking device led Florida researchers to the largest python "aggregation" ever found in Collier County.

A couple of days before Valentine's Day, a male python (or sentinel) nicknamed Argo was fitted with a tracking device and led researchers with the Conservancy of Southwest Florida to a 100-pound female python about to lay eggs.

The female was captured, and Argo was then released to be tracked down again. Just three days later and about a half-mile away from the first location, they found the horny snake attending a record-breaking snake sex party, also known as an "aggregation."

The researchers found Argo with a gravid female weighing about 115 pounds and seven other male Burmese pythons. The eight were the most snakes ever found in one place within Southwest Florida and the western Everglades, reports the Naples Daily News.

The Burmese python problem has became such an issue in Florida that the Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission allows for the killing and removal of Burmese pythons without a permit. In fact, the FWC encourages people to remove and kill pythons from private lands whenever possible.

Interesting method of tracking down these snakes, I suppose its quite effective if they grabbed 8 with one male.

Python sex parties...now I've heard everything.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

So, why would 8 males be hanging out with one gravid female?

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Perhaps there was one or more other females in the area as well that were better at hiding?
Glad they were able to remove the large gravid female! Wish them the best of luck with the eradication/tracking projects.

Well personally I think it's time to make the call. Burmese pythons will never be eliminated from Florida, why not just leave them alone? Seems like a futile effort if you ask me. It always breaks my heart to hear of snakes being killed.

I know garter snakes congregate to mate, perhaps Burmese pythons do as well, now there may be proof!

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Originally Posted by cchardwick

Well personally I think it's time to make the call. Burmese pythons will never be eliminated from Florida, why not just leave them alone? Seems like a futile effort if you ask me. It always breaks my heart to hear of snakes being killed.

I know garter snakes congregate to mate, perhaps Burmese pythons do as well, now there may be proof!

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Because if they don't at least keep the numbers at a reasonable low, they will wipe out the animals that actually belong there, and outcompete the native snakes.

Think killing these pythons is tragic? Allowing them to cause the extinction of the native snakes is even worse.

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Originally Posted by cchardwick

Well personally I think it's time to make the call. Burmese pythons will never be eliminated from Florida, why not just leave them alone? Seems like a futile effort if you ask me. It always breaks my heart to hear of snakes being killed.

I know garter snakes congregate to mate, perhaps Burmese pythons do as well, now there may be proof!

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I'd rather loose some Burms than letting them decimate the ecosystem, just look at how the Brown Tree Snake damaged Guam's ecosystem.

Oh, and on a side note. I find this rather interesting, if I recall correctly Garter Snakes and Anacondas mate in a similar fashion

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Originally Posted by cchardwick

Well personally I think it's time to make the call. Burmese pythons will never be eliminated from Florida, why not just leave them alone? Seems like a futile effort if you ask me. It always breaks my heart to hear of snakes being killed.

I know garter snakes congregate to mate, perhaps Burmese pythons do as well, now there may be proof!

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Putting pressure on the invasive populations helps native populations of animals that are being outcompeted and eliminated to stay in the game. Scientists are also still working on better techniques to catch the pythons. One of the latest is synthesizing pheromones to lure in males and implanting estrogen into males to make them attract other males as if they were female. Getting a % of the pythons is still far better for the ecosystem than giving up.

Kill em all. And make boots.

On a similar note, the invasive tegus and monitors are quickly becoming a bigger problem than the pythons in Florida. They already have a wider range to the north than the snakes do.

In Manchester , England there is as ongoing problem for the police ... They use heat-seeking technology in helicopters to search out cannabis farms or small cannabis ventures in domestic houses .... Anyways there have been an uptown reptile keepers being raided as their snake rooms / sheds give off a massive heat signal :)


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Originally Posted by Alter-Echo

Because if they don't at least keep the numbers at a reasonable low, they will wipe out the animals that actually belong there, and outcompete the native snakes.

Think killing these pythons is tragic? Allowing them to cause the extinction of the native snakes is even worse.

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I think they should be left in place because the subsequent generations have already established themselves within the local eco system and a balance will be reached. As a snake guy I'm also in favour of this because they are an endangered species.

This has also happened with humans in the Americas. But no one is calling for European descendants and by default African descendants to be removed from the continent because the subsequent generations are now established there. Humans are part of the animal kingdom so this situation is no different.

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Originally Posted by Valyrian

I think they should be left in place because the subsequent generations have already established themselves within the local eco system and a balance will be reached. As a snake guy I'm also in favour of this because they are an endangered species.

This has also happened with humans in the Americas. But no one is calling for European descendants and by default African descendants to be removed from the continent because the subsequent generations are now established there. Humans are part of the animal kingdom so this situation is no different.

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With invasives there is no balance, just look what happened to the island tortoises in the pacific. Introduced animals outcompete them and rendered most of them extinct. The same would have happened to the Galapagos tortoise had they not managed to eradicate the introduced rats that were eating the young.

Also, as an indigenous decendant, I can tell you that this wasn't exactly a great outcome, but it happened a long time ago and it's too late to do much about it... it might not be too late to do something about the pythons.

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Originally Posted by Alter-Echo

With invasives there is no balance, just look what happened to the island tortoises in the pacific. Introduced animals outcompete them and rendered most of them extinct. The same would have happened to the Galapagos tortoise had they not managed to eradicate the introduced rats that were eating the young.

Also, as an indigenous decendant, I can tell you that this wasn't exactly a great outcome, but it happened a long time ago and it's too late to do much about it... it might not be too late to do something about the pythons.

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I dont think they can realistically be eradicated by humans. Not unless some kind of python specific pathogen is deliberately released.

But I read this was all blown out of proportion anyway because most of them were recently wiped out by a harsh winter (by Florida standards). Which would be a case of nature finding a balance - it will always reach an equilibrium.

That's all this is really - nature. I don't believe in man-made vs nature. We evolved on Earth like all other organisms so by default all of our actions and behaviours are a result of nature. We're just seeing it in action.

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Originally Posted by Valyrian

That's all this is really - nature.

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It's not though.

A boa in Colombia being blow out to sea and swimming to land to find an island (let's say Hog Isle) where it can establish itself and evolve into the ecosystem is nature.
A bunch of pythons released into an environment a continent away from their native land (by Hurricane Andrew wiping out import facilities and humans releasing 'pets') is man-made ecological disaster.
There is (most likely) no way those snakes would have ever naturally found there way to Southern Florida.

Like how invasive rats brought on ships to remote locations and the rats destroyed native populates was a mad-made disaster. There is a lot of work being done remove them (https://news.nationalgeographic.com/...s-environment/)

There are feral cats on the galapogos islands because they were stow aways on research and tourist vessels and they are wrecking havoc on the bird and lizard populations. Eradication is ongoing and having some success (http://www.hear.org/galapagos/invasi...jects/cats.htm)

I do agree that burmese and other established non-native reptiles in FL will be difficult if not impossble to fully eradicate. But I don't think that means they should not try, or at least try to control and reduce the population as much as possible. There are a lot of invasive species in FL (and all over the US) wrecking havoc - pigs, cats, other flora and fauna. It's a different world we live in now with all the large amounts of exports/imports, makes is so easy for these types of things to happen. Native species get pushed out and of course the new species will find some sort of balance but that doesn't mean we can't try to preserve the environments as best we can to protect those native species before they are gone. (imo of course).

Regarding humans - well it's a different subject that could get very heated and would quickly take this off topic.

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Originally Posted by AbsoluteApril

It's not though.

A boa in Colombia being blow out to sea and swimming to land to find an island (let's say Hog Isle) where it can establish itself and evolve into the ecosystem is nature.
A bunch of pythons released into an environment a continent away from their native land (by Hurricane Andrew wiping out import facilities and humans releasing 'pets') is man-made ecological disaster.
There is (most likely) no way those snakes would have ever naturally found there way to Southern Florida.

Like how invasive rats brought on ships to remote locations and the rats destroyed native populates was a mad-made disaster. There is a lot of work being done remove them (https://news.nationalgeographic.com/...s-environment/)

There are feral cats on the galapogos islands because they were stow aways on research and tourist vessels and they are wrecking havoc on the bird and lizard populations. Eradication is ongoing and having some success (http://www.hear.org/galapagos/invasi...jects/cats.htm)

I do agree that burmese and other established non-native reptiles in FL will be difficult if not impossble to fully eradicate. But I don't think that means they should not try, or at least try to control and reduce the population as much as possible. There are a lot of invasive species in FL (and all over the US) wrecking havoc - pigs, cats, other flora and fauna. It's a different world we live in now with all the large amounts of exports/imports, makes is so easy for these types of things to happen. Native species get pushed out and of course the new species will find some sort of balance but that doesn't mean we can't try to preserve the environments as best we can to protect those native species before they are gone. (imo of course).

Regarding humans - well it's a different subject that could get very heated and would quickly take this off topic.

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But humans are part of the animal kingdom. We are living breathing beings the same as any other animal. Therefore all of our behaviours and phenotypes are natural.

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I think it's foolish to lay all the blame on Burmese pythons, I lived in Sait Petersburg for a long time the chemicals dumped in the water (also raw sewage) , over population of people we are destroying quicker than any little or big noodle could ever dream :(
I was wondering like feral cats they found killing did more harm than good so TNR was enforced so it would not cause the vacuum effect could we do the same with snakes?

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Originally Posted by C.Marie

I think it's foolish to lay all the blame on Burmese pythons,

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Who is laying the blame on the burm? It's all man's fault, the invasive species being there, the pollution, the habitat destruction. All because of humans. We are the worst species.

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Originally Posted by C.Marie

I think it's foolish to lay all the blame on Burmese pythons, I lived in Sait Petersburg for a long time the chemicals dumped in the water (also raw sewage) , over population of people we are destroying quicker than any little or big noodle could ever dream :(
I was wondering like feral cats they found killing did more harm than good so TNR was enforced so it would not cause the vacuum effect could we do the same with snakes?

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It is man's fought. We are the invaders. People grumping about alligators in their back yard but their back yard was the breeding grounds and home of the alligator long before man moved in. Now we are bringing our pets and freeing them into the wild in a new location with plenty of food and great habitat for them to survive. Sure culling a few retics to restore balance will not solve the problem but neither will ignoring the damage being done. We are responsible and should act responsibility to prevent and help resolve our mistakes. Balance is found in nature when nature is left to be natural. None thing was natural about them being there. None thing is natural about us being there. Humans are the most unnatural animal on the planet.

I'd imagine the tegus / monitors are a much larger threat... omnivorous, more intelligent, better climbers, etc. I'd imagine they could easily wipe out birds (eating them and eggs) lizards, snakes, etc. And, I think they are more cold-tolerant, or at least better at burrowing and finding ways around colder weather. Burms are very susceptible to URIs if not at the right temps, so that probably helps control them. I've read that they are not spreading northward, unlike the tegu and monitors.

I think the bigger overall threat is pollution, habitat destruction, etc. (sugar cane fields anyone?). I think it is in FFW's best interests to also overstate their numbers, etc. as they get more funding for eradication projects based on those numbers.

I do think the methods they used in this scenario are very interesting. I'd like to see USFW put as much effort into eradicating feral cats... But that won't happen because people would freak out if they started killing off strays. Don't get me wrong, I own a cat and love them (mine is indoors only) but they crush the local ecosystems they are in and unlike snakes, can survive cold quite well. I've read that feral cats kill an average of one native bird a day and that they will kill / hunt even when full. Same goes for "outdoor" cats that people own.

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Originally Posted by artgecko

I'd imagine the tegus / monitors are a much larger threat... omnivorous, more intelligent, better climbers, etc. I'd imagine they could easily wipe out birds (eating them and eggs) lizards, snakes, etc. And, I think they are more cold-tolerant, or at least better at burrowing and finding ways around colder weather. Burms are very susceptible to URIs if not at the right temps, so that probably helps control them. I've read that they are not spreading northward, unlike the tegu and monitors.

I think the bigger overall threat is pollution, habitat destruction, etc. (sugar cane fields anyone?). I think it is in FFW's best interests to also overstate their numbers, etc. as they get more funding for eradication projects based on those numbers.

I do think the methods they used in this scenario are very interesting. I'd like to see USFW put as much effort into eradicating feral cats... But that won't happen because people would freak out if they started killing off strays. Don't get me wrong, I own a cat and love them (mine is indoors only) but they crush the local ecosystems they are in and unlike snakes, can survive cold quite well. I've read that feral cats kill an average of one native bird a day and that they will kill / hunt even when full. Same goes for "outdoor" cats that people own.

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You're correct, cats have caused the extinction of 33 native species worldwide and counting. And it's not just feral cats. Yet for some reason Burmese pythons are the bigger problem while cats are allowed to wipe out entire species. That's insane to me.






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Originally Posted by C.Marie

I was wondering like feral cats they found killing did more harm than good so TNR was enforced so it would not cause the vacuum effect could we do the same with snakes?

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TNR is not actually better than trapping and euthanasia for reducing cat populations. That's mostly just pushed by feral cat advocates based on misinterpretation of a couple studies. Those same cat advocates tend to be much more helpful with giving information on how to shelter and feed feral cats than how to actually get any of the cats fixed. Trapping and euthanasia of feral cats is generally thought to be far more effective and cheaper, but it's unpopular.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23009077

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Originally Posted by Valyrian

You're correct, cats have caused the extinction of 33 native species worldwide and counting. And it's not just feral cats. Yet for some reason Burmese pythons are the bigger problem while cats are allowed to wipe out entire species. That's insane to me.

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cats are actually responsible for more than 100 extinctions and they kill almost 1 billion birds each year.* an ecologist who did an AMA on reddit a while back said cat populations are far more dangerous and are a bigger threat than any Burms in the Everglades.

_{*feral cats; cats with owners/outdoor cats were responsible for 300 million of that one billion.}

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Originally Posted by tttaylorrr

cats are actually responsible for more than 100 extinctions and they kill almost 1 billion birds each year.* an ecologist who did an AMA on reddit a while back said cat populations are far more dangerous and are a bigger threat than any Burms in the Everglades.

_{*feral cats; cats with owners/outdoor cats were responsible for 300 million of that one billion.}

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I understand how people feel when they tell me they hate snakes because that's how I feel about cats [emoji23]

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I say we toss all the feral cats and burms in a pit and let them fight it out, thunderdome style. :rofl:

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Originally Posted by Alter-Echo

I say we toss all the feral cats and burms in a pit and let them fight it out, thunderdome style. :rofl:

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Amen brother